GOP Congressman: ‘Something Has Changed’ on Race Relations Since Dallas and Baton Rouge

CLEVELAND — Race relations have changed in the past month. So much that taking the same elevator as a person of color will make an individual think twice, according to one member of Congress.

In an interview with Independent Journal Review, Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) said the country has grown too divided and:

“the fabric of America is being stretched and hey, this thing could rip.”

Zinke added that the recent shootings of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, have worsened the way one views typically normal circumstances:

“I mean two weeks ago, when you were in an elevator with a black guy — not even a second look, right? Now you get in an elevator with a black guy and a policeman, something’s changed in how you view that small trip up the elevator.”

The U.S. Navy SEAL-turned-Congressman added that the racial divisions are not just noticed by himself, but the country as a whole.

“It’s not just us, it’s America,” Zinke said. “We gotta have a little unity on what the principles of our country [are] first and what the [inaudible] deep scars that have been opened up — that I don’t think are healthy for our country.”